Libya parliament attack adds to turmoil

REBEL UPRISINGS:The influential Zintan brigades, known to be opposed to Islamists, were behind the assault, witnesses said, and have attacked the parliament before

AFP, TRIPOLI

Armed groups attacked Libya’s interim parliament and an air base in the east on Sunday, adding to turmoil in the troubled country where a rogue general has launched an offensive against Islamists in the city of Benghazi.

A colonel claiming to speak on behalf of the army declared that the Libyan parliament had been suspended.

“We, members of the army and revolutionaries [former rebels], announce the suspension of the General National Congress,” Mokhtar Fernana said, reading out a statement broadcast on two private television channels.

Private television channel Libya International was hit by rockets, shortly after broadcasting the statement.

“At least four rockets struck the channel’s offices. There was material damage, but no victims,” a journalist speaking on condition of anonymity said.

Since the toppling of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, successive Libyan governments have struggled to impose order as heavily armed former rebel brigades have carved out their own fiefdoms.

Libyan Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said two people had been killed and 55 wounded in clashes between rival militia groups in southern Tripoli, but he added that the violence had “no real link” to an offensive launched on Friday by ex-general Khalifa Haftar against Islamists in Benghazi, 1,000km to the east.

Witnesses identified the assailants as members of the influential Zintan brigades who are known for their opposition to the Islamists and have attacked the Libyan parliament, known as the General National Congress (GNC), before.

Lawmakers were evacuated from the building in southern Tripoli as heavy gunfire erupted after a convoy of armored vehicles entered the city from the airport road and headed for the GNC.

Residents said gunmen in civilian clothes attacked the building, but no casualties were reported.

The Zintan brigades are made up of former rebels who fought Qaddafi.

The groups from Zintan control areas in southern Tripoli around the airport.

An AFP photographer said a column of smoke billowed over the GNC building after gunmen set fire to an annex, and that several cars parked nearby had been damaged.

Later, the gunmen were seen withdrawing to their bases and gunfire was heard along the airport road, residents said.

Militias have launched several attacks on the GNC, including on March 2 when two lawmakers were shot and wounded.

The latest violence in Tripoli came after deadly fighting in Benghazi, where Haftar unleashed his so-called National Army on Islamist militiamen on Friday, backed by warplanes.

At least 79 people were reported killed on Saturday in the Benghazi unrest.

On Sunday, armed Islamists attacked the Benina air base in Benghazi, but no one was hurt, base commander Colonel Saad al-Werfalli told reporters.

“Rockets are being fired at the base, but so far it’s not serious,” al-Werfalli said, adding that the rockets hit waste land.

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